In 2016, MOFCOM comprehensively carried out the spirits of the 18th NPC and the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, profoundly learned and implemented the important spirits of the series of speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping, closely focused on the cooperation initiative of the “Belt and Road” construction, firmly established the new development concept of “innovation, coordination, greening, openness and common sharing”, strived to adapt to the requirements of new trends, continuously promoted deepening reform and vigorously transformed working mode according to the unified arrangement of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, and continuously perfected and improved aspects such as strengthening planning guidance, implementing facilitation measures, promoting business innovation, increasing policy support, cultivating favorable environment and strengthening service guarantee according to the changes of situation and the requirements of practical work. The work of going abroad maintained a favorable and sound development momentum.

Foreign investment and cooperation developed soundly and orderly and the cooperation with the countries along the line of the “Belt and Road” became the highlight. In the whole 2016, Chinese enterprises’ direct investment in the countries along the line of the “Belt and Road” was US$14.53 billion, the contract value of newly-signed contractual foreign projects was US$126.03 billion, accounting for 51.6% of the contract value of the newly-signed contractual foreign projects of China in the same period. The completed turnover was US$75.97 billion, accounting for 47.7% of the total amount in the same period. By the end of 2016, Chinese enterprises built 56 cooperation zones which have begun to take shape in the countries along the line of the “Belt and Road” with an accumulative investment of US$18.55 billion. The enterprises entering these zones reached 1,082 with a total output of US$50.69 billion. The taxes submitted to the host countries reached US$1.07 billion and 177,000 job were created for local regions.

The industrial structure of outward investment was further optimized and the real economy and the emerging industry got much attention. In the whole year of 2016, Chinese enterprises’ investment in manufacturing industry, information transmission, software and information technology service industry and scientific research and technological service industry was US$31.06 billion, US$20.36 billion and US$4.95 billion respectively. Among these, the proportion of the investment in manufacturing industry in the total amount of outward investment increased to 18.3% from 12.1% in 2015. The proportion of the investment in information transmission, software and information technology service industry in the total amount of outward investment went up to 12.0% from 4.9% in 2015.

There were many big newly-signed contractual foreign projects which obviously drove export. In the whole year of 2016, there were 815 contractual foreign projects with a newly-signed contract value of more than US$50 million, up 91 compared with that of the same period last year. The accumulative contract value reached US$206.60 billion, accounting for 84.7% of the total amount of the newly-signed contracts. A batch of international capacity cooperation projects and infrastructure interconnectivity projects such as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor were successfully implemented. In 2016, driven by the contractual foreign projects, the export of equipment materials reached US$13.3 billion.

On the whole, all kinds of business of China’s outward investment cooperation made progress in leaps and bounds. The achievements were hard won. In order to guarantee successful completion of the work tasks of the whole year, MOFCOM mainly conducted work in the following aspects.

Further strengthen planning and guidance strength. MOFCOM, together with relevant departments, complied cooperative planning, guided enterprises to carry out international capacity cooperation, construction of overseas trade and economic industrial gardens and zones, jointly held the 2nd working conference of supporting the Northeast in promoting equipment manufacturing and international capacity cooperation with the three provinces of the Northeast, and jointly built the working mechanism with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and China Industry and Economy League to promote the construction of the “Belt and Road” and deepen the international capacity cooperation.

Profoundly promote the reform of management system. MOFCOM studied and revised the Regulation on Contractual Foreign Projects, the Notification on Relevant Filing Work of Cooperation Project of Transmitting Labor from Mainland to Hong Kong and Macao, and the Notification on Further Standardizing Operation Behaviors in Outward Investment Cooperation Field, carried out supervision and investigation on outward investment cooperation in the course and afterwards, formulated the implementing rules of “double random and one opening” of outward investment cooperation, the Statistical Work Assessment Method of Foreign Direct Investment, issued the Statistical Bulletin of China’s Foreign Direct Investment in 2015 and the Statistical Report of China’s Contractual Foreign Projects and Labor Cooperation Business in 2015.

Promote the outward investment cooperation in key fields. MOFCOM regarded the construction of the “Belt and Road” as the guide and focused on the international capacity cooperation. Firstly, efforts had been made to take promoting the industrialization process of Africa as the entry point and support enterprises positively participating in the plan, investment and construction of infrastructure such as African high-speed road, railway, port, airport and logistic hub center. Secondly, efforts had been made to guide enterprises to positively conduct the project of integrating investment, construction and operation, and to promote international equipment, technology, service and standards to “go abroad”. Thirdly, efforts had been made to guide enterprises to build overseas trade and economic cooperation zone according to local conditions, to highlight accumulative effect and to accelerate building a batch of demonstration bases of overseas capacity cooperation.

Constantly improve service assurance measures. Efforts had been made to issue China’s Outward Investment and Cooperation Development Report in 2015, to upgrade the National (Regional) Guidance of Outward Investment Cooperation, complied the 2016 Report on Facilitation of National Investment and Operation, to make full use of the “Going Abroad” public service platform to provide one-stop service of public information of “going abroad”, to use platforms such as the China-ASEAN Expo, Xiamen Investment and Trade Fair, China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Forum to guide enterprises to conduct international capacity cooperation. Efforts were also made to strengthen the construction of bilateral mechanism, to sign inter-governmental investment and cooperation agreement and bilateral trade and economic cooperation plan with relevant countries, to enhance overseas safety risk prevention, to maintain the legal interests of Chinese overseas enterprises and personnel, to publish overseas safety risk early warning and hint, to coordinated and dispose overseas emergencies.

2017 marks a significant year of implementing the “13th Five-Year” plan and the deepening year of structural reform of supply side. MOFCOM will continue to encourage enterprises to go abroad, carry out outward investment cooperation in all kinds of forms, constantly improve the status and role of Chinese enterprises in the global industrial chain and value chain, carry out mutual-beneficial cooperation and realize common development according to the principles of “enterprises dominant, market operation, international conventions and government guidance”. MOFCOM will positively strengthen the guidance, prevent all kinds of risks, constantly standardize market orders and competition behavior, promote the sound and orderly development of outward investment cooperation when continuously promoting the facilitation of outward investment cooperation, make greater contribution to deepening the structural reform of supply side, promoting the transformation and upgrading of domestic economy and deepening the trade and economic relations between China and countries all over the world, and embrace the successful convening of the 19th NPC of the Communist Party with excellent performance.

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